 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(March 2024) |
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 Trinidad and Tobagoportal |
The Democratic Action Congress (DAC) was a Tobago-based political party in Trinidad and Tobago.
| | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(March 2024) |
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| Trinidad and Tobagoportal |
The Democratic Action Congress (DAC) was a Tobago-based political party in Trinidad and Tobago.
The party was established in 1971 by A. N. R. Robinson, and was originally an autonomist party. It first contested general elections in 1976, [1] in which it won both Tobago seats, taken by Robinson and Winston Murray. The party went on to dominate the Tobago House of Assembly, and retained both seats in the 1981 elections.
In 1986 the party merged into the National Alliance for Reconstruction. However, after the NAR lost control of the Tobago House of Assembly in 2001, an attempt was made to oust Hochoy Charles as the NAR leader in Tobago in 2004. As a result, Charles left the NAR and re-formed the DAC. In the 2005 elections the DAC routed the NAR (which was reduced to just 113 votes), but only won a single seat.
In the 2007 national general elections the party failed to win a seat, despite forming an alliance known as the Tobago United Front. From this grouping emerged a new party— the Tobago Organisation of the People. Whilst the majority of the DAC supported the merger, Charles withdrew from the merger claiming that the DAC still existed as a separate organisation. However, it did not put forward any candidates for the 2009 elections.
The politics of Trinidad and Tobago function within the framework of a unitary state regulated by a parliamentary democracy modelled on that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from which the country gained its independence in 1962. Under the 1976 republican Constitution, the monarch was replaced as head of state by a President chosen by an electoral college composed of the members of the bicameral Parliament, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The United National Congress is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unionist, and actor after a split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). After spending six years in opposition, the UNC won control of the government in 1995, initially in coalition with the NAR and later on its own. In the 2000 general election, the UNC won an absolute majority in the Parliament. In 2001, a split in the party caused the UNC to lose its parliamentary majority and control of the government. From 2001 to 2010, the UNC was once again Parliamentary Opposition party. In May 2010, the UNC returned to government as the majority party in the People's Partnership. The UNC's Political Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was Prime Minister from 2010 until 2015.
Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson, was a Trinidadian politician who was the third president of the country, serving from 19 March 1997 to 17 March 2003. He was also Trinidad and Tobago's third prime minister, serving in that capacity from 18 December 1986 to 17 December 1991. He is recognized for his proposal that eventually led to the founding of the International Criminal Court.
The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections since 1956 serving as the nation's governing party or on four occasions, the main opposition. As a result, it has sometimes been referred to as Trinidad and Tobago's "main political party". There have been four PNM Prime Ministers and multiple ministries. The party espouses the principles of liberalism and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum.
The National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) was the governing party in Trinidad and Tobago between 1986 and 1991. The party has been inactive since 2005.
The Organisation for National Reconstruction (ONR) was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party received the second-highest number of votes in the 1981 general elections, but failed to win a seat. Prior to the 1986 elections it merged into the new National Alliance for Reconstruction.
Karl Terrence Hudson-Phillips, ORTT, QC was an Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago and a judge of the International Criminal Court. He was also lead counsel in the murder trial of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.
The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a unicameral devolved legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was re-established in 1980 to rectify some of the disparities in the relationship between the two islands; a prior body of the same name existed from 1768 to 1874. In addition to the normal local government functions, the THA handles many of the responsibilities of the central government, but has limited ability to collect taxes and to impose local law or zoning regulations. At the helm of the Assembly Legislature is the Presiding Officer with the fifteen elected assemblymen, and four appointed councillors. Three of the councillors are appointed on the advice on the Chief Secretary and one on the advice of the Minority Leader. The Chief Secretary is the leader of the majority party in the assembly and is at the helm of the Executive arm of the THA.
The United Labour Front (ULF) was a labourist political party in Trinidad and Tobago and the main opposition party between 1976 and 1986. It was a successor to the Democratic Labour Party and the Workers and Farmers Party.
The Democratic Labour Party was the main opposition party in Trinidad and Tobago from 1957 till 1976. That party was the party which opposed the People's National Movement (PNM) at the time of Independence. After several splits brought about by leadership struggles, the party lost its hold on the Indo-Trinidadian community in the 1976 General Elections and was displaced in parliament by the United Labour Front under the leadership of Basdeo Panday, a former DLP senator. The party was the representative of the ethnic Indian community in the country; however Indian Muslims and Christians were said to be less loyal to the party than Indian Hindus.
Carson Charles is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and former Minister of Works and Transportation. He is currently the political leader of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR).
The Democratic National Assembly (DNA) is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party is meant to serve as a "third force" is society, providing a "non-tribal" alternative to the ruling United National Congress and the Opposition People's National Movement. The party symbol is a flat topped pyramid.
Early general elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 7 October 2002, after People's National Movement leader Patrick Manning had failed to secure a majority in the hung parliament produced by the 2001 elections. This time the PNM was able to secure a majority, winning 20 of the 36 seats. Voter turnout was 69.6%.
The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state election, the Nationals WA is the senior party in an opposition alliance with the WA Liberal Party in the WA Parliament. Prior to the election, the National Party was sitting in the crossbench and the Liberal Party was the sole opposition party. The election resulted in the National Party winning more seats than the Liberal Party and gaining official opposition status. Under the opposition alliance, the National Party leader and deputy leader would be the opposition leader and deputy opposition leader respectively, the first since 1947, and each party would maintain their independence from each other.
The Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) is an autonomist political party in Tobago formed in 2008. Its current political leader is Ashworth Jack. The party was formed in 2008 from a split with the Democratic Action Congress.
Elections to the Tobago House of Assembly have taken place every 4–5 years since its establishment in 1980. There are twelve electoral districts, each electing one representative. The People's National Movement has been successful in all five elections between 2001 and 2017. Between 1980 and 1996, parties achieving a majority were the Democratic Action Congress and the National Alliance for Reconstruction.
Anthony Isidore Smart is a Trinidadian politician and lawyer. He served as a Member of Parliament from December 1986 to November 1991 and Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago from March 1989 to November 1991. He was also Political Leader of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) from April 2000 to November 2001. He currently serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of the First Citizens Bank since June 17, 2014.
The Western Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division), is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Western Australia. Founded in March 1949 as the Liberal and Country League of Western Australia (LCL), it simplified its name to the Liberal Party in 1968.
The history of Tobago covers a period from the earliest human settlements on the island of Tobago in the Archaic period, through its current status as a part of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Originally settled by indigenous people, the island was subject to Spanish slave raids in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century and colonisation attempts by the Dutch, British, French, and Courlanders beginning in 1628, though most colonies failed due to indigenous resistance. After 1763 Tobago was converted to a plantation economy by British settlers and enslaved Africans.
